Photo courtesy of 9/08 think that's the Brandenburg Gate at the end of the street

Brandenburger Tor

Type: Architecture, Free Attractions, Historic Sites

10Best Says

The last of Berlin's surviving city gates is also one of its most photographed landmarks. And no wonder, for this splendid 12-columned triumphal arch linking the vast Tiergarten city park and the... Read More

The last of Berlin's surviving city gates is also one of its most photographed landmarks. And no wonder, for this splendid 12-columned triumphal arch linking the vast Tiergarten city park and the elegant boulevard Unter den Linden is indeed a visual stunner. Its design sprang from the fevered brow of the prolific Carl Gotthard Langhans who looked to Athens and the Acropolis for inspiration. Two years after the gate's completion in 1791, Johann Gottfried Schadow's 'Quadriga' sculpture was hoisted to the top. The monumental bronze shows the Roman goddess of Victory charging east on a chariot drawn by four horses. Napoleon kidnapped the lady in 1806 but she safely returned in 1814. During the Cold War, the Brandenburg Gate was trapped on the eastern side of the Berlin Wall, making it a potent symbol of the city's division.

Historic Sites: "Go and visit the gates at dusk or night time for a magical effect. They are beautifully lit and look particularly grand- words can't describe the feeling as you exit up the U-Bahn steps and the gates come into view!"